|
Extracts
from some recent reviews: I recently had the
pleasure of catching up with Chris Foster at the Court Sessions Club
in South London (Friday 21 March 2003). It was a few years since I had
seen Chris perform, and I am pleased to say that his warm, tuneful voice
and intricate, tasteful guitar accompaniments are as impressive as ever.
However, while chatting with Chris I was surprised to learn that this
was his last folk club gig until the Autumn. It seems astonishing to
me that a performer of Chris' stature (for the uninitiated, comparisons
with Martin Carthy and Nic Jones would not be untoward) should be so
overlooked. ‘Foster’s new CD ‘Traces’ is essentially just what I’d hoped for….His voice as engaging as ever, and his guitar playing a supportive frame for it.Equally important his choice of songs is exemplary….Even people who have heard a whole lot of folk revival albums should seek this one out for a fresh perspective.’Steve Winnick – Dirty Linen, USA Chris Foster is a very fine singer …he gets to the epicentre of a song …by choosing a different version, or simply by being a great stylist himself, he claims the songs as his own. Of the two Leon Rosselson songs, my favourite is a sad and haunting tale of a disaffected schoolboy doomed to a production-line job, ‘turning little piggies into plastic packaged sausages’.When this is demolished, he sinks back into despair and anonymity.Chris Foster gets the perfect balance of jaunty silliness in the story and pathos as it reaches its sad end. What you hear on this CD is exactly what you’ll hear in your club or at your festival.It’s an old fashioned concept - one voice, one instrument, strong traditional songs - but it’s always been a good one.This CD underlines just how good it can be. Alan Murray – The Living Tradition Chris Foster chooses
famous British ballads The Bold Princess Royal, Flower of Servingmen
and Raggle Taggle Gypsies amongst others. With his clever guitar playing
and his deep warm and comfortable voice his performance of these traditional
songs is very impressive. The guitar accompaniments are specially lyrical,
melodic and rhythmic. One can easily compare him with ‘role models’
such as Martin Carthy and Nic Jones but he sounds more sophisticated. Chris Foster is back and somehow manages to sound as if the decades had never passed. Everything that made those first albums so moving and memorable is here in full force…I’ve always thought Foster’s version of the traditional ‘When a man’s in love’ was one of the best and most sensual on record and this new rendition only serves to confirm that. Once again Foster excels at his interpretive skills in the Leon Rosselson songbag. He manages to get even more out of both the story and the tune of ‘Barney’s Epic Homer’ than the author’s original – no mean feat! It is a pure delight to have Chris Foster back again. Andy Nagy – Sing Out, USA Review of Traces from Froots ( Folk Roots Magazine issue 197) November 1999 The last I heard of Chris Foster was when he quit performing about 25 years ago. Then as now he sang trad. songs, often about episodes of injustice, interspersed with a bit of Leon Rosselson and could turn in a guitar accompaniment as complicated as the twists and turns of a song might demand. Both the repertoire and the singer’s accent are unequivocally English and while many of the songs are familiar enough, the versions he sings often aren’t. The story of the Flower of Serving Men is told in under four minutes possibly because the gory details aren’t dwelt on and a happy ending arrives from nowhere, and there’s a notably downbeat Raggle Taggle Gypsies (learnt from Tim Laycock). I very much liked his approach to phrasing, which successfully combines an easy flow with sudden flurries of disruption (as for the outbreak of GBH in Arthur McBride). The Flying Cloud on the other hand is taken almost identically, if memory serves, to Dave Burland’s version (Edward Hollander). This isn’t a record of dazzling innovation, more one that reasserts the virtues of what in the hands of its more gifted exponents of whom Chris Foster is certainly one, remains an effective and rewarding way of putting across traditional songs. Review of Traces from Folkmag (www.btinternet.com/~radical/thefolkmag) the on-line folk magazine, September 1999 Chris Foster is another singer who we didn’t see in folk clubs for many years. In this his first CD recording, he’s taken the opportunity to present new recordings of The Ranter and Flying High, Flying Free which have appeared on previous albums. The choice of three songs from East Anglia reflects the time that Chris spent in Suffolk. The Bold Princess Royal goes especially well to a tune from the same family as Flash Company and Jack Barleycorn is an excellent version from Chris’ friend the late Jumbo Brightwell. Chris’ arrangements bring out the power of ballads like The Flower of Servingmen and The Fowler. And then there are the Leon Rosselson songs. At the risk of offending admirers of Roy Bailey, I think that Chris is a better interpreter of Leon’s songs. Barney’s Epic Homer is for me, the best track on the album. Bob Taberner Review of TRACES from TAPLAS, the folk music magazine for Wales and the borders, October / November 1999 issue Apart from a cassette in 1994, this is Chris Foster’s first recording since his 1970’s Topic albums LAYERS and ALL THINGS IN COMMON. It’s difficult to imagine a gap of twenty years, this new CD has the same freshness of those earlier albums, with his distinctive West Country accent, relaxed delivery and impressive guitar accompaniment. The songs are mainly traditional and well known, but his versions breathe new life into John Barleycorn and The Fowler and his covers of two Leon Rosselson songs are equally successful. While comparisons with Martin Carthy and Nic Jones are inevitable, he stamps each song with his own interpretation, while allowing it the freedom and space to tell its own tale. A fine album! Nick Passmore Review of TRACES from Fesztivalujsag, the Hungarian Folk music newspaper issue 3, Autumn 1999 A few years ago, Chris Foster returned to concert life - after a long rest from full-time professional singing - this time on his own terms. I remember him saying to me then that he would only make a CD if he wasn’t pressurised into it. He would like his CD to be the perfection of his work. His plan was long-term: when he felt there was no more he could do to interpret a song, then he would record it. His CD would be the product, maybe, of years of work. For those of you unfamiliar with Chris Foster’s work, it has always been dominated by a combination of what one Sue Grace has called "a knack for finding intriguing and unusual songs", combined with a passion and sensitivity towards his repertoire that transcends performance and includes his most personal and private beliefs. His life is dedicated to human justice, but his art never sinks to mere propagandism. Anyway it’s out. He’s done it. TRACES is the result of many years of work - in some cases, thirty years of work on one particular song. If you have been following the career of Chris Foster like I have, you might be faintly disappointed when you see some of the titles. The Ranter and The Flower of Serving Men appear on his first vinyl record, as does The Coast of Peru which also appears on his 1994 cassette STING IN THE TALE. Also from STING IN THE TALE can be heard The Fowler and Flying High, Flying Free. In other words five of the twelve tracks of TRACES, Chris has already recorded in one case twice. "Where are the new songs?" you might ask yourself. The answer, after you have heard the new CD recording, is that they are all new. Not one of the ‘repeated’ songs is a repeated production. The meticulous Chris Foster has buried himself into each, and lovingly disembowelled it in order to extract the last molecule of meaning. No nuance has been overlooked or ignored. TRACES has accomplished what Chris Foster intended it to do: provide, as far as the medium allows, a near perfect demonstration of his talents. His aim was perfection within his own abilities, and I believe that he has done all that he announced that he would accomplish. Andy Rouse Review of TRACES from The Folk Diary December ’99 January ’00 issue The first people to get Chris Foster into a recording studio were Jim Marshall and I some 25 years ago when he recorded for us for "Minstrels Gallery" (on BBC Radio Brighton) . The power of his singing and playing that day stays with me. Amazingly, some of the songs he recorded then are also on this album; "When A Man's In Love" and "The Flower of Serving Men" were taped that day and they also turned up on the epoch making albums that he made for Topic in 1977 and 1979. The arrangements have changed and developed over the years, but Chris hasn't changed his approach that much in a quarter of a century. He doesn't need to, he got it right first time. His is one of the most distinctive voices of the folk revival, totally sure and engaging, with some of the most accomplished and sensitive guitar accompaniments that you are likely to hear. Chris continues to mix up the traditional songs with those by modern songwriters and Leon Rosselson remains a favourite and his "Barney's Epic Homer" is a delight here. Chris is returning to performing more in recent times after devoting much of his time to Community Arts work, so we should be seeing more of his entrancing performances in folk clubs. Vic Smith |